|
The stress response to danger:
Fear keeps us alive...when it is a response to a
present and real threat to our safety. You are well designed to respond to
threat: Your breath and heartbeat get faster. Your muscles tense.
Blood flows away from digestion. Your bowels may loosen. Your blood
sugar rises. Your senses heighten. You are pumped and ready for the famous fight or flight response.
 We are also
designed to
return to equilibrium, to relax once we have fled or successfully
fought the threat.
The stress response to
triggers:
Our brains are designed to remember threats that we've
encountered and to react to them quickly when we encounter them
again. This happens below the radar of cognition, your "thinking"
brain. For example-- A dog chases you. Your brain remembers:
dog = threat. Two weeks later, you see a different dog and feel a
rush of fear in your body before your "thinking mind reminds you
that the new dog is cute, on a leash and not a threat.
The good news
is that you don't have to slowly think things through before running
for your life when you are in danger. The bad news is that you have
a trigger that isn't susceptible to distinctions or context. And you
will be extra vigilant about dogs.
The stress response to
thought:
Abstractions--language and thought--can also trigger fear. You read a sign:
"beware of the dog" and you feel a rush of fear. You remember the
terrible experience of the dog chase. You wonder if there will be
dogs on the walk you are taking with your friend.
What we think and our
own internal language can trigger the same stress response as a
saber-toothed tiger.W
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is the activation of the stress response in the absence of a
real and present threat...and we've all experienced it. We
anticipate a presentation or a difficult conversation, and we feel
the muscle tension, the fast pulse or short breath.
But at the
moment there is nothing to either flee or fight.
Edward Munch: Evening
on Karl Johan,1892
Anxiety as a
problem:
Anxiety can feel awful, even
feel life-threatening. Anxiety requires a lot of psychological
and physical energy. Anxiety directs your awareness away from the
present. Without an threat conquer or escape, it's hard to turn off the relaxation response.
When anxiety is chronic
or when it prevents us from moving toward our valued goals it can be
a problem.
|
Yoga
offers tools to address anxiety.
Focused awareness releases us from trigger thoughts.
Your Yoga practice, whether for asana or meditation, requires
you to direct your attention. Perhaps you are consciously following
your breath or attending to sensation or repeating a mantra.
When your attention is directed , you are no longer engaged with
anxiety-producing thoughts. The signs of anxiety subside, as
you no longer focus on these thoughts.
Breathing calms the fear response.
Pranayama (Yoga breathing) slows the breath. The
hyperventilation that often comes with anxiety brings too MUCH
oxygen into your bloodstream. When the ratio of oxygen to carbon
dioxide rises, your nervous system responds with many of the
'symptoms' of anxiety. And when the breath slows and softens, the
ratio of oxygen to carbon dioxide returns to normal. This signals
your brain and nervous system to reverse muscular tension, blood
vessel constriction, etc.
Alternate nostril breath is
particularly helpful if you suffer from anxiety. Practice 5-7 cycles
of this breath 4-6/day, whether or not you are feeling anxious.
Yoga postures release tension and ground us.
Feeling connected to the ground increases our sense of safety.
Try the standing postures, like the Warrior poses. Allow your feet
to sink more deeply into your footprint. To relieve anxiety, it is
important to have your lower body be strong and engaged with the
ground, so your upper body can soften and open.
Your asana practice, done with
conscious breath and awareness, releases muscular tension. Work
actively at your 'edge' gradually deepening into the postures.
Also, alternate vigorous effortful postures like plank or gate pose
with 'letting go' postures like child pose or seated forward bend.
Integration of body, mind & spirit helps us use our resources.
Sometimes when you are anxious, you feel "beside yourself" or
"out of your mind" or "spaced out." These are expressions of
a disconnect between mind and body that can leave you feeling as
helpless as if you were asked to drive a car without being able to
sit in the driver's seat.
In the same way, when anxious, you
may feel isolated, empty, or separated from the world and the people
around you. This deep sense of separation from Self and the
Universal can be truly frightening.
When you practice Yoga, you
integrate and connect your mind, your body and your spirit. This is
a natural outcome of a consistent practice.
When your mind, body and spirit are
integrated, you can move toward equilibrium and balance.
Practice reinforces commitment.
There is nothing we can do to avoid all suffering. But we can
make a commitment to identify our values and goals and aim toward
them.
We may have to suffer anxiety as we
take the actions necessary to live a valued life. We don't, however,
have to perpetuate the thoughts or language or sensations that
trigger that anxiety.
This is not an easy commitment. The
discipline of Yoga is training for commitment. Whether it's every
day or every week, you spread your mat and begin your practice.
As many times as your mind wanders in meditation, you return your
awareness to breath.
Paradoxically, accepting your
anxiety and focusing on your 'valued goals' will very likely reduce
that anxiety
|
